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‘Motivated vendor’: Major Guvera stakeholder looks to offload 5m shares in streaming firm

Guvera AFR adOne of the major shareholders of music streaming firm Guvera is selling five million shares at a time when the business is expecting a “large cash injection”, it has emerged.

The shareholder, whose identity has not been revealed, is thought to hold around 10 per cent of the Australia-based streaming service, with the sale representing almost half the stake.

Lawyers handling the sale placed an advert in today’s Australian Financial Review, describing the individual as a “motivated vendor”.

Chris McArdle, principal lawyer at Sydney-based McArdle Law firm, denied the sale was indicative of a struggling company, claiming the seller simply wanted to unlock cash.

The shares are on the market at $1.90 per share for the first $500,000, and $1.70 for the remainder. They are available in one block or through a “negotiated proportion”.

“Guvera is a successful music streaming business with more than 10m million customers worlwide. The facts speak for themselves,” McArdle told Mumbrella. “It has a viable, intelligent business model and is profitable.”

He added: “We have already had calls from potential buyers, including existing shareholders”.

Guvera_Logo_Landscape_KThe sale price, if met, would represent a “comfortable” return for his client, McArdle said.

He stressed it was not a case of the seller decreasing his risk in Guvera, adding the Brisbane-based operation was soon to receive a “large cash injection”.

McArdle declined to reveal details but said the investment was expected from an international private equity-style business that has Australian operations.

The sale by one of its major shareholders comes shortly after Guvera closed its UK operation which it launched at the beginning of the year after acquiring Blinkbox Music from British supermarket chain Tesco.

Guvera chief executive Darren Herft said Blinkbox was placed into administration after a planned restructure became too difficult and would have required too heavy an investment from Guvera Limited.

McArdle said his client was “disappointed” and regarded the decision to close Blinkbox as having been made “too early”.

Guvera, which operates an ad-funded model, launched in Australia in 2010 but struggled to make an impact and was relaunched in 2013

It has since expanded to several international markets, including the US and India and is one of the sponsors of The Voice.

Comment is being sought from Guvera.

Steve Jones

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